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BACKGROUND: Improving pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), balance and functional activity is recommended in the treatment of urinary incontinence (UI) in the elderly people. The aim of this study is to examine whether PFMT combined with Otago exercises is effective on symptoms, balance and functional status in elderly people with UI compared to PFMT alone. METHODS: This study is an assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Participants with UI aged 65 and over living in a nursing home were randomly assigned to the intervention (IG) and control groups (CG). The intervention group attended an exercise program that included Otago exercises combined with PFMT. The control group was included in the PFMT program with different positions. The duration of exercise for both groups was 45-60 min per session three times a week for 12 weeks. UI symptoms and severity (Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20, bladder diary), PFM muscle function (superficial electromyography), balance (Berg Balance Scale), functional status (Senior Fitness Test) and fear of falling (Falls Efficacy Scale) were measured at baseline and after the intervention. RESULTS: The median age of the IG (n: 22) and CG (n: 21) was 73.5 and 77 years, respectively. At baseline and after the intervention within the group, a significant improvement was observed in the PTDE-20 score (IG and CG, p: 0.00) and the 2-min step test in the IG (p: 0.02) and CG (p: 0.01). A significant decrease was found in the 2.45 m get up-and-go test, PFM work average onset, and PFM rest MVC EMG values (p: 0.01, p: 0.01, p: 0.00) in the IG. The PFM rest average value decreased (p: 0.04) in the CG. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study show that combining PFMT with Otago exercises, two evidence-based interventions, is beneficial for effectively treating incontinence symptoms, balance and functional status in elderly people. Thus, a triple effect can be achieved with a single exercise training in the same treatment session and for the same duration. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Clinical trial number: NCT06331039.
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Social support from family and friends, albeit associated with beneficial health effects, does not always help to cope with pain. This may be because humans elicit mixed expectations of social support and evaluative judgment. The present studies aimed to test whether pet dogs are a more beneficial source of support in a painful situation than human companions because they are not evaluative. For this, 74 (Study 1) and 50 (Study 2) women completed a cold-pressor task in the presence of either their own (S1) or an unfamiliar (S2) dog, a friend (S1), or an unknown human companion (S2), or alone. In both studies, participants reported less pain and exhibited less pain behavior in the presence of dogs compared to human companions. Reactions to pain were moderated by attitudes towards dogs in S2. This suggests that pet dogs may help individuals to cope with painful situations, especially if the individual in pain generally feels affectionate towards dogs.
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The superior colliculus (SC) has been increasingly implicated in the rapid processing of evolutionarily relevant stimuli like faces, but the behavioural relevance of such processing is unclear. The SC has also been implicated in the generation of express visuomotor responses (EVR), which are very short-latency (~80 ms) bursts of muscle activity time-locked to visual target presentation. These observations led us to investigate the influence of faces on EVRs. We recorded upper limb muscle activity from healthy participants as they reached toward targets in the presence of a distractor. In some experiments, faces were used as stimuli. Across blocks of trials, we varied the instruction as to which stimulus served as the target or distractor. Doing so allowed us to assess the impact of instruction on muscle recruitment given identical visual stimuli. We found that responses were uniquely modulated in tasks involving high-contrast faces, promoting reaches toward or away from a face depending on instruction. Follow-up experiments confirmed that the phenomenon required highly salient repeated faces and was not observed to non-facial stimuli nor to faces expressing different affects. This study extends the hypothesis that the SC mediates the EVR by demonstrating that faces impact muscle recruitment at short latencies that precede cortical activity for face perception. Our results constitute direct evidence for the behavioural relevance of face detection in the brainstem, and also implicate a role for top-down cortical pre-setting of the EVR depending on task context.
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High-density electromyography (HD-EMG) can provide a natural interface to enhance human-computer interaction (HCI). This study aims to demonstrate the capability of a novel HD-EMG forearm sleeve equipped with up to 150 electrodes to capture high-resolution muscle activity, decode complex hand gestures, and estimate continuous hand position via joint angle predictions. Ten able-bodied participants performed 37 hand movements and grasps while EMG was recorded using the HD-EMG sleeve. Simultaneously, an 18-sensor motion capture glove calculated 23 joint angles from the hand and fingers across all movements for training regression models. For classifying across the 37 gestures, our decoding algorithm was able to differentiate between sequential movements with 97.3 ± 0.3 % accuracy calculated on a 100 ms bin-by-bin basis. In a separate mixed dataset consisting of 19 movements randomly interspersed, decoding performance achieved an average bin-wise accuracy of 92.8 ± 0.8 % . When evaluating decoders for use in real-time scenarios, we found that decoders can reliably decode both movements and movement transitions, achieving an average accuracy of 93.3 ± 0.9 % on the sequential set and 88.5 ± 0.9 % on the mixed set. Furthermore, we estimated continuous joint angles from the EMG sleeve data, achieving a R 2 of 0.884 ± 0.003 in the sequential set and 0.750 ± 0.008 in the mixed set. Median absolute error (MAE) was kept below 10° across all joints, with a grand average MAE of 1.8 ± 0 . 04 ∘ and 3.4 ± 0 . 07 ∘ for the sequential and mixed datasets, respectively. We also assessed two algorithm modifications to address specific challenges for EMG-driven HCI applications. To minimize decoder latency, we used a method that accounts for reaction time by dynamically shifting cue labels in time. To reduce training requirements, we show that pretraining models with historical data provided an increase in decoding performance compared with models that were not pretrained when reducing the in-session training data to only one attempt of each movement. The HD-EMG sleeve, combined with sophisticated machine learning algorithms, can be a powerful tool for hand gesture recognition and joint angle estimation. This technology holds significant promise for applications in HCI, such as prosthetics, assistive technology, rehabilitation, and human-robot collaboration.
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Eletromiografia , Gestos , Mãos , Dispositivos Eletrônicos Vestíveis , Humanos , Eletromiografia/métodos , Masculino , Feminino , Adulto , Mãos/fisiologia , Algoritmos , Movimento/fisiologia , Adulto JovemRESUMO
After stroke, the poorer recovery of motor function of upper extremities compared to other body parts is a longstanding problem. Based on our recent functional MRI evidence on healthy volunteers, this perspective paper proposes systematic hand motor rehabilitation utilizing the plasticity of interhemispheric interaction between motor cortices and following its developmental rule. We first discuss the effectiveness of proprioceptive intervention on the paralyzed (immobile) hand synchronized with voluntary movement of the intact hand to induce muscle activity in the paretic hand. In healthy participants, we show that this bilateral proprioceptive-motor coupling intervention activates the bilateral motor cortices (= bilaterally active mode), facilitates interhemispheric motor-cortical functional connectivity, and augments muscle activity of the passively-moved hand. Next, we propose training both hands to perform different movements, which would be effective for stroke patients who becomes able to manage to move the paretic hand. This bilaterally different movement training may guide the motor cortices into left-right independent mode to improve interhemispheric inhibition and hand dexterity, because we have shown in healthy older adults that this training reactivates motor-cortical interhemispheric inhibition (= left-right independent mode) declined with age, and can improve hand dexterity. Transition of both motor cortices from the bilaterally active mode to the left-right independent mode is a developmental rule of hand motor function and a common feature of motor function recovery after stroke. Hence, incorporating the brain's inherent capacity for spontaneous recovery and adhering to developmental principles may be crucial considerations in designing effective rehabilitation strategies.
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Neck pain associated with helmet-wear is an occupational health problem often observed in helicopter pilots and aircrew. Whether aircrew helmet wearing is associated with physiological and biomechanical differences between sexes is currently unknown. This study investigated neuromuscular activation patterns during different helmet-wearing conditions. The helmet load was manipulated through a novel Helmet Balancing System (HBS) in healthy, non-pilot male and female participants (n = 10 each, age 19-45 years) in two phases. Phase A assessed the acute effects of helmet-wear on neck muscles activation during head movements. Phase B examined changes in muscle activity and cervical disc height after wearing a helmet for 45 min. In Phase A, muscle activity was similar between sexes in many movements, but it was higher in female participants when wearing a helmet than in males. The HBS reduced muscle activity in both sexes. In Phase B, female participants exhibited a greater level of muscular fatigue, and male participants' cervical disc height was significantly decreased [5.7 (1.4) vs. 4.4 (1.5) mm, P < 0.001] after continuous wearing. Both sexes showed no significant change in muscle fatigue and disc height [male: 5.0 (1.3) vs. 5.2 (1.4) mm, P = 0.604] after applying HBS. These findings demonstrate sex-specific physiological and biomechanical responses to wearing a helmet. They may indicate different postural and motor control strategies, associated with different neck pain aetiologies in male and female aircrew, the knowledge of which is important to reduce or prevent musculoskeletal injuries associated with helmet wearing. HIGHLIGHTS: What is the central question of this study? Do sex differences exist in the neck physiological response to helmet-wearing? What is the main finding and its importance? Sex differences exist in both the acute response and after 45 min of helmet wearing: during a given head movement, female participants' muscle activity was greater than male participants' and females also demonstrated greater muscular fatigue after continuous helmet-wear than males while cervical disc height showed a significant reduction after 45 min helmet-wear in males only. These findings could provide insight into future training or injury prevention strategy for pilots.
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Intention detection of the reaching movement is considerable for myoelectric human and machine collaboration applications. A comprehensive set of handcrafted features was mined from windows of electromyogram (EMG) of the upper-limb muscles while reaching nine nearby targets like activities of daily living. The feature selection-based scoring method, neighborhood component analysis (NCA), selected the relevant feature subset. Finally, the target was recognized by the support vector machine (SVM) model. The classification performance was generalized by a nested cross-validation structure that selected the optimal feature subset in the inner loop. According to the low spatial resolution of the target location on display and following the slight discrimination of signals between targets, the best classification accuracy of 77.11 % was achieved for concatenating the features of two segments with a length of 2 and 0.25 s. Due to the lack of subtle variation in EMG, while reaching different targets, a wide range of features was applied to consider additional aspects of the knowledge contained in EMG signals. Furthermore, since NCA selected features that provided more discriminant power, it became achievable to employ various combinations of features and even concatenated features extracted from different movement parts to improve classification performance.
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Eletromiografia , Movimento , Reconhecimento Automatizado de Padrão , Processamento de Sinais Assistido por Computador , Máquina de Vetores de Suporte , Humanos , Masculino , Adulto , Feminino , Adulto Jovem , Atividades CotidianasRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to determine the impact of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) on sphincter function and overall well-being in patients who underwent low anterior resection (LAR) and diverting ileostomy due to rectal cancer. For this purpose, anal electromyography (aEMG), low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality-of-life questionnaires (EORTC-QLQ)-C30 (generic for cancer) and CR29 (specific to colorectal cancer) were used. The primary endpoint of our study is to determine the effect of PFMT on sphincter function by aEMG, the secondary endpoint is to evaluate the effect on quality-of-life using the LARS score, EORTC-QLQ-C30 and CR-29 questionnaires. METHODS: Conducted between January 2017 and April 2018 at a tertiary hospital's general surgery clinic, the study included 32 patients between the ages of 18 and 75 who underwent low anterior resection and diverting ileostomy surgery. The patients were divided into two: the Study Group (SG), which started PFMT after surgery, and the Control Group (CG), which was not subjected to additional exercises. Six months after closure of the diverting ileostomy, both groups were evaluated with aEMG, LARS scores, and EORTC-QLQ-C30 and CR-29. RESULTS: aEMG duration values were significantly lower in the SG (17.6 m/sec vs. 19.9 m/sec; p=0.001). Additionally, a significant decrease in SG, major LARS rates (12.5% vs. 62.5%; p=0.004) and LARS scores (23.1 vs. 30.0; p=0.003) was observed. While there was no significant difference between the groups in EORTC-QLQ C30, increased sexual interest and decreased fecal incontinence were observed in SG in EORTC-QLQ-CR29. CONCLUSION: PFMT significantly improves LARS scores, quality-of-life questionnaires and aEMG parameters, positioning PFMT as an accessible, non-invasive, easy-to-use first-line treatment option in the treatment of LARS.
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For numerous biological and human-machine applications, it is critical to have a stable electrophysiological interface to obtain reliable signals. To achieve this, epidermal electrodes should possess conductivity, stretchability, and adhesiveness. However, limited types of materials can simultaneously satisfy these requirements to provide satisfying recording performance. Here, we present a dry electromyography (EMG) electrode based on conductive polymers and tea polyphenol (CPT), which offers adhesiveness (0.51 N/cm), stretchability (157%), and low impedance (14 kΩ cm2 at 100 Hz). The adhesiveness of the electrode is attributed to the interaction between catechol groups and hydroxyls in the polymer blend. This adhesive electrode ensures stable EMG recording even in the presence of vibrations and provides signals with a high signal-to-noise ratio (>25 dB) for over 72 h. By integrating the CPT electrode with a liquid metal strain sensor, we have developed a bimodal rehabilitation monitoring patch (BRMP) for sports injuries. The patch utilizes Kinesio Tape as a substrate, which serves to accelerate rehabilitation. It also tackles the challenge of recording with knee braces by fitting snugly between the brace and the skin, due to its thin and stretchable design. CPT electrodes not only enable BRMP to assist clinicians in formulating effective rehabilitation plans and offer patients a more comfortable rehabilitation experience, but also hold promise for future applications in biological and human-machine interface domains.
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Eletrodos , Eletromiografia , Humanos , Polifenóis/química , Dispositivos Eletrônicos Vestíveis , Condutividade Elétrica , Adesivos/química , Epiderme/fisiologia , Adesividade , Polímeros/químicaRESUMO
We aimed to assess high-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG)-torque relationships in the presence of delayed onset trunk muscle soreness (DOMS) and the effect of these relationships on torque steadiness (TS) and lumbar movement during concentric/eccentric submaximal trunk extension contractions. Twenty healthy individuals attended three laboratory sessions (24 h apart). HDsEMG signals were recorded unilaterally from the thoracolumbar erector spinae with two 64-electrode grids. HDsEMG-torque signal relationships were explored via coherence (0-5 Hz) and cross-correlation analyses. Principal component analysis was used for HDsEMG-data dimensionality reduction and improvement of HDsEMG-torque-based estimations. DOMS did not reduce either concentric or eccentric trunk extensor muscle strength. However, in the presence of DOMS, improved TS, alongside an altered HDsEMG-torque relationship and kinematic changes were observed, in a contraction-dependent manner. For eccentric trunk extension, improved TS was observed, with greater lumbar flexion movement and a reduction in δ-band HDsEMG-torque coherence and cross-correlation. For concentric trunk extensions, TS improvements were observed alongside reduced thoracolumbar sagittal movement. DOMS does not seem to impair the ability to control trunk muscle force, however, perceived soreness induced changes in lumbar movement and muscle recruitment strategies, which could alter motor performance if the exposure to pain is maintained in the long term.
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Eletromiografia , Exercício Físico , Mialgia , Humanos , Masculino , Mialgia/fisiopatologia , Mialgia/etiologia , Adulto , Feminino , Exercício Físico/fisiologia , Fenômenos Biomecânicos , Torque , Adulto Jovem , Contração Muscular/fisiologia , Músculo Esquelético/fisiopatologia , Músculo Esquelético/fisiologia , Região Lombossacral/fisiopatologia , Tronco/fisiopatologia , Vértebras Lombares/fisiopatologiaRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Motor Unit Number Estimation (MUNE) techniques are crucial in assessing lower motor neuron loss. MScanFit MUNE (MScanFit) is a novel tool which estimates MUNE values from compound muscle action potential (CMAP) scans by considering the probabilistic nature of motor unit firing. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the diagnostic utility of MScanFit compared to quantitative electromyography (qEMG) in ALS patients. METHODS: We enrolled 35 patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 14 healthy controls, assessing qEMG and MScanFit MUNE in abductor pollicis brevis, abductor digiti minimi and tibialis anterior muscles. RESULTS: We found higher sensitivity of qEMG in detecting abnormalities compared to MScanFit, with a high concordance rate between the two techniques. Notably, a few muscles exhibited abnormal MUNE but normal qEMG findings, suggesting a potential complementary role for MScanFit in ALS diagnosis. Neurophysiological parameters from MScanFit showed good correlations with qEMG measures. Subclinical neurophysiological involvement was observed in muscles with normal strength, emphasizing the importance of sensitive diagnostic tools. CONCLUSION: MScanFit demonstrated validity in distinguishing ALS patients from healthy subjects and correlated well with qEMG parameters. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study confirmed the diagnostic utility of MScanFit MUNE in ALS, highlighting its role as a supplementary diagnostic tool.
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The objective of the article is to recognize users' emotions by classifying facial electromyographic (EMG) signals. A biomedical signal amplifier, equipped with eight active electrodes positioned in accordance with the Facial Action Coding System, was used to record the EMG signals. These signals were registered during a procedure where users acted out various emotions: joy, sadness, surprise, disgust, anger, fear, and neutral. Recordings were made for 16 users. The mean power of the EMG signals formed the feature set. We utilized these features to train and evaluate various classifiers. In the subject-dependent model, the average classification accuracies were 96.3% for KNN, 94.9% for SVM with a linear kernel, 94.6% for SVM with a cubic kernel, and 93.8% for LDA. In the subject-independent model, the classification results varied depending on the tested user, ranging from 91.4% to 48.6% for the KNN classifier, with an average accuracy of 67.5%. The SVM with a cubic kernel performed slightly worse, achieving an average accuracy of 59.1%, followed by the SVM with a linear kernel at 53.9%, and the LDA classifier at 41.2%. Additionally, the study identified the most effective electrodes for distinguishing between pairs of emotions.
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Eletromiografia , Emoções , Humanos , Eletromiografia/métodos , Emoções/fisiologia , Masculino , Feminino , Adulto , Expressão Facial , Processamento de Sinais Assistido por Computador , Máquina de Vetores de Suporte , Algoritmos , Músculos Faciais/fisiologia , Adulto Jovem , Face/fisiologia , EletrodosRESUMO
INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Concentric needle electromyography (CNEMG) is an essential examination for evaluating neuromuscular disorders, although pain is a drawback. Clustering Index (CI) method is a non-invasive quantitative analysis for surface electromyography (SEMG) that evaluates whether the signal area is clustered into the few large motor unit potentials (MUPs) or is evenly distributed. However, the diagnostic yield of the CI method in comparison with CNEMG is not known. In this study, we aimed to compare the sensitivity of the CI method with MUP parameters in CNEMG for diagnosing neurogenic or myogenic disorders. METHODS: We retrospectively identified patients for whom both SEMG and CNEMG were performed on the same tibialis anterior (TA) muscle. In CNEMG, seven MUP parameters were evaluated, including size index (SI) and revised size indices for neurogenic (rSIn) and myogenic (rSIm) disorders. RESULTS: Identified were 21 patients with neurogenic and 21 patients with myogenic disorders. Control data were constructed from 30 control subjects. The sensitivities of the CI method for the neurogenic and myogenic groups were 76% and 62%, respectively, which were not significantly different from MUP parameters, except for being significantly higher than those of amplitude and duration for myopathy (24%). Among MUP parameters, the sensitivities of rSIn (62%) and rSIm (57%) for myopathy were significantly higher than those of amplitude and duration. The CI method significantly correlated with the strength of the TA muscle in myopathy. DISCUSSION: The CI method, having comparable diagnostic yields to MUP parameters, is promising as a non-invasive diagnostic measure.
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Hand motion detection is particularly important for managing the movement of individuals who have limbs amputated. The existing algorithm is complex, time-consuming and difficult to achieve better accuracy. A DNN is suggested to recognize human hand movements in order to get over these problems.Initially, the raw input EMG signal is captured then the signal is pre-processed using high-pass Butterworth filter and low-pass filter which is utilized to eliminate the noise present in the signal. After that pre-processed EMG signal is segmented using sliding window which is used for solving the issue of overlapping. Then the features are extracted from the segmented signal using Fast Fourier Transform. Then selected the appropriate and optimal number of features from the feature subset using coot optimization algorithm. After that selected features are given as input for deep neural network classifier for recognizing the hand movements of human. The simulation analysis shows that the proposed method obtain 95% accuracy, 0.05% error, precision is 94%, and specificity is 92%.The simulation analysis shows that the developed approach attain better performance compared to other existing approaches. This prediction model helps in controlling the movement of amputee patients suffering from disable hand motion and improve their living standard.
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This study investigated the effect of different resistance increments during warm-up on snatch performance of male weightlifters. Nine male college weightlifters were recruited. The 3 warm-up protocols were performed every 7 days with a randomized order: 1. Power snatch exercise with 10 % resistance increment (50 %, 60 %, 70 %, and 80 % of one-repetition maximum); 2. Power snatch exercise with 15 % resistance increment (50 %, 65 %, and 80 % of one-repetition maximum); 3. Self-selected resistance increment. Participants were tested based on 85 % maximum weight snatch after warm-up. Snatch performance was measured using peak vertical ground reaction force. Postural stability was measured using center-of-pressure displacement. Activation of seven shoulder, back, and leg muscles was measured using electromyography on the dominant side. In snatch performance, the 10 % increment protocol had a significantly higher peak vertical ground reaction force during the second-pull phase than the 15 % increment (d = 0.92, p < 0.05) and self-selected (d = 1.32, p < 0.05) protocols. In postural stability, no significant differences in center-of-pressure displacement among the three protocols were observed. For muscle activation, the 10 % increment protocol resulted in significantly higher activation of shoulder (d = 1.2-2.2, p < 0.05) during the second-pull phase than the other two protocols and higher activation of hip muscles (d = 1.73, p < 0.05) than self-selected protocol. To conclude, a warm-up protocol combining slow progression is preferable in improving power output during snatch in male weightlifters, probably through facilitating the activation of proximal limb muscles. It can enhance training quality while potentially reducing the risk of sports injuries.
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Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a rare, severe, and often debilitating condition that can result in significant morbidity and mortality amongst the pediatric population. Eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis (EMG) is a rare inflammatory neuropathy of the myenteric plexus with characteristic eosinophilic infiltration with and without hypogangliosis. The disorder has been previously documented as a cause of CIPO. We report the case of a 14-year-old male with no clear obstructive cause who, after multiple visits with a myriad of tests and workups, underwent surgical exploratory laparoscopy with the pathology returning a diagnosis of EMG with unique lymphocytic and eosinophilic cell components.
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How cortical oscillations are involved in the coordination of functionally coupled muscles and how this is modulated by different movement contexts (static vs dynamic) remains unclear. Here, this is investigated by recording high-density electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) from different forearm muscles while healthy participants (n = 20) performed movement tasks (static and dynamic posture holding, and reaching) with their dominant hand. When dynamic perturbation was applied, beta band (15-35 Hz) activities in the motor cortex contralateral to the performing hand reduced during the holding phase, comparative to when there was no perturbation. During static posture holding, transient periods of increased cortical beta oscillations (beta bursts) were associated with greater corticomuscular coherence and increased phase synchrony between muscles (intermuscular coherence) in the beta frequency band compared to the no-burst period. This effect was not present when resisting dynamic perturbation. The results suggest that cortical beta bursts assist synchronisation of different muscles during static posture holding in healthy motor control, contributing to the maintenance and stabilisation of functional muscle groups. Theoretically, increased cortical beta oscillations could lead to exaggerated synchronisation in different muscles making the initialisation of movements more difficult, as observed in Parkinson's disease.
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Electronic skin (e-skin) is considered as a highly promising interface for human-computer interaction systems and wearable electronic devices. Through elaborate design and assembly of various materials, it possesses multiple characteristics similar to human skin, including remarkable flexibility, stretchability, sensitivity to temperature and humidity, biocompatibility, and efficient interfacial ion/electron transport capabilities. Here, we innovatively integrate multifunctional carbon quantum dots (CQDs), which exhibit conductivity, antibacterial properties, ultraviolet absorption, and fluorescence emission, with poly(acrylic acid) and glycerin (Gly) into a three-dimensional network structure of natural goatskin collagen fibers. Through a top-down design strategy enhanced by hydrogen bond reconstruction, we successfully fabricated a novel transparent e-skin (PAC-eSkin). This e-skin exhibited significant tensile properties (4.94 MPa of tensile strength and 263.42% of a maximum breaking elongation), while also possessing Young's modulus similar to human skin (2.32 MPa). It is noteworthy that the functionalized CQDs used was derived from discarded goat hair, and the addition of Gly gave PAC-eSkin excellent antifreezing and moisturizing properties. Due to the presence of ultrasmall CQDs, which creates efficient ion/electron transport channels within PAC-eSkin, it could rapidly sense human motion and physiological signals (with a gauge factor (GF) of 1.88). Furthermore, PAC-eSkin had the potential to replace traditional electrode patches for real-time monitoring of electrocardiogram, electromyogram, and electrooculogram signals, with a higher SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) of 25.1 dB. Additionally, the customizable size and shape of PAC-eSkin offer vast possibilities for the construction of single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator systems. We have reason to believe that the design and development of this transparent e-skin based on CQDs-functionalized dermal collagen matrices can pave a new way for innovations in human-computer interaction interfaces and their sensing application in diverse scenarios.
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How the neuromechanics of the lower limb functional muscle groups change with running speed remains to be fully elucidated, with implications for our understanding of human locomotion, conditioning, and injury prevention. This study compared the neuromechanics (ground reaction and joint kinetics, kinematics and muscle activity) of middle-distance athletes running on an instrumented treadmill at six wide-ranging speeds (2.78-8.33 m·s-1). Ground reaction forces and kinematics were analyzed using inverse dynamics to calculate flexor and extensor joint torques, and positive and negative work done by these torques. Contributions of each functional muscle group to the total positive and negative work done by the limb during stance, swing, and the whole stride were quantified. During stance, the ankle plantar flexors were the major energy generator and absorber (>60%) at all speeds, but their contribution to whole stride energy generation and absorption declined with speed. Positive work by the hip extensors rose superlinearly with speed during stance (3-fold) and especially during swing (12-fold), becoming the biggest energy generator across the whole stride at >5 m·s-1. Knee flexor and extensor negative work also rose superlinearly with speed during swing, with the knee flexors becoming the greatest energy absorber over the whole stride at >7.22 m·s-1. Across speeds, plantar flexor peak moment and positive work accounted for 97% and 96% of the variance in step length, and swing hip extension peak moment and positive work accounted for 98% and 99% of the variance in step frequency. There were pronounced speed, phase (stance/swing), and work (positive/negative) dependent contributions of the different functional muscle groups during running, with extensive implications for conditioning and injury prevention.
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Músculo Esquelético , Corrida , Humanos , Corrida/fisiologia , Fenômenos Biomecânicos , Músculo Esquelético/fisiologia , Masculino , Adulto , Adulto Jovem , Eletromiografia , Torque , Extremidade Inferior/fisiologia , Articulação do Tornozelo/fisiologia , Feminino , Marcha/fisiologia , Articulação do Joelho/fisiologiaRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Cervical dystonia (CD) causes involuntary movements and postures of the head, neck, and shoulders, as well as nonmotor symptoms including pain, mood, and sleep dysfunction, and impacts quality of life. The first-line treatment for CD is botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections. AREAS COVERED: The clinical presentation and diagnosis of CD, as well as where BoNT resides in the treatment landscape, is reviewed first. Next, the mechanism of action and the pharmacological differences in the available preparations of BoNT products are explained. The evidence base for motor and nonmotor efficacy and safety of the available BoNT formulations is reviewed, with attention to duration of benefit as a driver of patient satisfaction. Practical determinants of BoNT efficacy are reviewed including muscle selection, accurate muscle injection, factors related to poor or deteriorating response, and immunogenicity. EXPERT OPINION: BoNT represents a significant advancement in the treatment of CD. More accurate diagnosis, muscle selection and targeting, and dosing can improve outcomes with existing BoNT formulations. Further refinement of BoNT potency, duration of action, safety, and immunogenicity will help reduce unmet needs in the magnitude and duration of benefit. Additional validation of DBS and MRI-guided focused ultrasound may expand options for patients with toxin nonresponse.